governor of california Gavin Newsome (D) is emerging as the early favorite in the Democratic 2028 White House race, according to a new survey that also shows young voters strongly disapprove of the president Donald Trump.
The Yale Youth Poll, an undergraduate-led project, surveyed 3,426 registered voters nationwide, including an oversample of 1,706 voters aged 18 to 34.
Among all Democratic candidates, Newsom still leads the former vice president with 25% of the vote, although no one has announced his candidacy. Kamala Harris 18%, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.D.) 16%, former Biden transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg is 14%.
In another test of electability, Democratic voters rated Newsom as their strongest general election choice, with 85% saying he was most likely to defeat a typical Republican opponent.
Among Republican participants, Vice President JD Vance Dominated the 2028 primaries without Trump, receiving support from 51% of Republican voters. But when respondents were asked to imagine Trump serving an unconstitutional third term, the president still picked 50 percent, while Vance dropped to 19 percent — a reminder of how closely aligned the party remains with Trump in its current form. Young Republicans have been particularly sober, with Trump failing to win a majority among voters under 30.
Polls show Trump’s appeal among young people has declined since rising slightly in the spring of 2025. Voters aged 18 to 34 now disapprove of his performance by 30 points or more, while Democrats hold a double-digit lead among all voters under 35 on the general congressional ballot.
Strategically, Republicans say they want to strengthen, not less, Trumpism, with 55% of Republican voters wanting the party to prioritize winning support from its base. By contrast, Democrats are divided between energizing core voters and pivoting to the center, a dilemma now playing out against a generational backdrop in which Newsom looks increasingly like the party’s candidate in a compromise between youth appeal and perceived electability.
The online survey was conducted in English by Verasight between October 29 and November 11, 2025, and has a margin of error of ±1.7 percentage points for the full sample.
The post New poll shows Democrats favorite in 2028 White House race appeared first on Mediaite
